Three in race for Eighth Circuit judgeship

Wednesday

The three candidates running for a vacancy on the Eighth Judicial Circuit bench are not the usual suspects — not a prosecutor among the bunch, not one from a prominent private law firm.

Instead, David Robertson works for the Florida Department of Transportation, Julie Waldman for the Tacachale Center for the developmentally disabled and Gloria Walker for Three Rivers Legal Services — a nonprofit that serves the disabled, elderly and abused.

The judicial vacancy will be determined by voters in all of the circuit’s counties — Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union. A candidate must win by more than 50 percent of the vote in the Aug. 28, otherwise the top two face each other in the Nov. 6 general election.

Judicial candidates generally cannot discuss partisan issues or legal matters they may face if they are elected. They also are supposed to refrain from speaking badly about their opponents.

All three said they have the temperament to be a judge. They cited respect for those in the courtroom, listening to all sides, honesty, integrity and fairness as necessities.

David Robertson

Robertson, who lives in Gainesville, is chief counsel for the Florida Department of Transportation Lake City district office that covers 18 counties across northeast Florida.

It’s a post he has held for about 10 years. The job involves contracts, eminent domain — or acquiring private property for road projects — and advising the district in legal issues involving its work program.

“Eminent domain is a large bulk of what we do. I have litigated cases in that area,” Robertson said. “The big construction contracts — there are always issues with those. We do a lot of development agreements between the department and local government and developers, and I am heavily involved in those.”

Robertson also is a member of the Florida National Guard, using his legal skills as a prosecutor, defense lawyer and judge advocate along with combat zone deployment.

For 10 years before joining DOT, Roberson was a private practice attorney and served a stint as the city attorney for Live Oak.

The mix of public, private and military legal work gives Robertson broad experience that he can take to the bench if elected, he said. While much of his career has been in civil law, Robertson added he would like to hear both civil and criminal cases.

“With the levels of responsibility I maintain inside and outside the military, I feel like I have a lot to offer. It would be a great privilege to put that experience to work for the people of the Eighth Circuit,” Robertson said, adding he would have “the courage to uphold the law, particularly when doing so may result in an unpopular decision.”

Robertson has $127,821 in campaign donations, including $100,000 of his own money.

Julie Waldman

Nearly all of Waldman’s legal career has been spent working with the developmentally disabled, first in South Florida and then in Gainesville for the past 25 years.

Waldman is now deputy center administrator at Tacachale but much of the legal experience came as a staff attorney for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, a state agency that oversees Tacachale. She has tried cases in every circuit in Florida and in most counties.

She began her law career in real estate, but changed tack and became a lawyer for the precursor of the Florida Department of Children and Families. The agency was later split off from DCF.

“I wanted to be a lawyer since I was 12 years old and my idea was to change the world, have an impact on people, make a real difference,” Waldman said. “(The state) immediately gave me a caseload. I had the opportunity to get lots of experience at lots of things.”

Waldman’s cases involved clients with legal issues over medication, guardianship, mental health and social services. Her work also included business matters such as contracts, employees issues and licensing.

While continuing to work in Gainesville, Waldman was promoted to deputy general counsel for the state agency, which also included criminal cases.

That experience has prepared her for a judicial post, Waldman said.

“I feel I have not just a broad range of subject matter but a broad range of experience in different courtroom settings and judges,” Waldman said. “I love the residents and I love what I’m doing. I have given so much of myself to Tacachale but I feel I have so much more to give. None of my opponents have the range of experience or the years of experience that I have.”

Waldman has $24,432 in campaign contributions.

Gloria Walker

When Walker was growing up, her mother, who had Walker when she was 15, wanted only for her daughter to graduate from high school and get a job. Walker has done far more than that.

She did get a job right out of high school. But she wanted to go to college and worked her way to UF bachelor’s and law degrees. Walker has spent most of her career working her way up the ladder at Three Rivers Services, where she is now director of litigation for the agency, which operates in 17 counties.

“Sometimes life experiences are really good when you’re looking to be a judge. Bringing to the bench life experiences will help you understand what comes before you,” Walker said. “There is a notion or misconception that because I’m a legal services attorney ... that somehow I’ll be light on crime. No, no — it’s the opposite because I have pulled myself up by the bootstraps and I have gotten the job done. I don’t really like excuses and I want people to do the right thing.”

Walker was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Gainesville to attend UF, was passionate about public-interest law and joined Three Rivers.

Both her background and her legal work has prepared her to be a judge, Walker said.

“I have both filed lawsuits and defended lawsuits. I have that unique experience that I’m on both sides of cases,” Walker said. “One of the difficulties of being a judge is making the hard calls. My entire life has been hard calls. I’m used to it.”

Walker had collected $53,325 in contributions.

Cindy Swirko is a Gainesville Sun staff writer.

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